Knittinggarden

to get me excited. I went to Michael's today in search of Dishrag cotton and came back with three balls of Sugar 'n Cream (the "original"). I'm going to try making one of them - I made sure to get a ball with two bias-knit dishcloth patterns on it so I can see just how easy this can be. Since I have to start off our team's relay, I'll have to be super quick. In looking at their blogs, it seems that some of my teammates are very accomplished knitters. I don't want to be the weak link in the chain! Speaking of getting yarn, I had a great mail day on Monday. I got my package from The Loopy Ewe (it's true - Sheri is lightening fast). Along with the laceweight Lane Borgosesia Cashwool, I got some new sock yarns to try. There's Dream in Color Smooshy in the Nightwatch colorway, Fiesta Boomerang in Rhubarb, and yarn from The Knittery in Chocolate Royale. You can see my little swatch there for MS3. I really like the light feel of the fabric...

I get to be a Team Captain for Dishrag Tag. The power! The responsibility! I hope I can fulfill my duties in a competent manner. PTA President is nothing compared to this... Seriously, it will be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to meeting my team members online (they're from all across the country). Actually making the dishrag will probably be the smallest part. I've never made one, but I imagine it will only take a few hours. Maybe I should start training now so I won't let the team down by being any slower than usual. I'm training for Mystery Stole now. In addition to the Victorian Lace and Waving Lace socks I've been working on, I started the Branching Out Scarf from Knitty.com. I'm making it with Handmaiden Camelspin, which felt so soft when I picked it up that I couldn't resist it. I thought the color was beautiful, too; a variegated mix of chocolate brown, black, and blue. Yum! I got it at Beehive Wool on a recent trip to Victoria...

I've signed up for two more knitalongs in the last few days. The first one, called Dish Rag Tag, I read about here. I thought it sounded fun and easy, and would be a way to add more "imaginary friends" to my circle. Word spreads so fast that it closed within days with over 200 participants. It doesn't begin until August 1, but the "teams" will be assigned soon and it will be fun to see who I will be racing with. The second one, which I can't remember where I saw, is Mystery Stole 3. The idea is fun: you are given a list of supplies to purchase, and then on a start date, the first "clue" is revealed. Every Friday another clue is posted and if you follow the instructions, you will end up with a lace stole. I'm just getting into lace knitting with some socks, and enjoying it immensely. I finally figured out how to read a chart, and how to make sure the pattern is correct as I knit. I hope this project won't be too difficult. I ju...

We had a great weekend that continued through Monday! We had a super time with family members visiting from Boston and Las Vegas on Saturday, I participated in a tribute to a beloved music director from our Temple on Sunday, and yesterday we visited College/Working Boy and brought him some items he needs for his new rental house on the other side of the mountains. And, there was a box of yarn from The Loopy Ewe in the mailbox when we got home! On Saturday, we had a wonderful time visiting with cousins we rarely see, since they had the nerve to move far away from the Seattle area. It's great now that baby K is walking; ever notice how a get-together turns into a "show" when there's a baby, puppy, or kitten as the center of attention? That's how it was, but everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Baby K really liked the chocolate cake! Sunday was a tribute to Samuel Goldfarb, music director of the Temple our family belonged to when I was growing up. My sister and I j...

But it's not supposed to happen in one day! Here in the Seattle area, in the last week, we've had beautiful clear skies with temperatures in the 80s, light breezes, and generally our idea of wonderful summer weather. Then, in a matter of a day, or sometimes only hours, we are treated to humidity, drizzle, still-warm temperatures, thunderstorms, heavy cloudbursting rain and a now grand temperature of 50. Planning daily activities becomes somewhat of a challenge unless you are always prepared to sit indoors or outdoors and knit! I've finished about half of my first Waving Lace sock, and finally had an "aha" moment when starting over on the lace pattern for about the fourth time. I realized that when I looked at the chart, all the purl symbols lined up; therefore, each row's pattern had to have the purls on top of the other purls. Suddenly there was clarity and my knitting flew along. It was fun to see the pattern emerge, and look like the picture in the bo...

Wow, 11 years. It seems like the blink of any eye that we went from this to this And now it's even a year later than when we posed for this photo; two boys successfully finishing freshman year of college, and the baby is driving. It's been an adventure, and one that promises to continue with even more surprises, excitement, and love. You'll always be my car guy, and I love you.

"It's a good day when yarn comes in the mail" is my new motto, and yesterday was a good day. I got a package from The Sweet Sheep with a skein of Colinette Jitterbug. I've been reading good things about it and "needed" to add it to my considerable stash of sock yarn. The colorway is Bright Charcoal, which has some black in it, which is what I've been looking for. I also had tea with my friend Sandy at my local LYS, Village Yarn and Tea , which is a fabulous place. It's just like it sounds - you can have tea and scones, shop for yarn, sit and knit, and/or all three at once! The people there are so friendly and helpful, too. It's always great to stop by, and more times than not I leave with new yarn. I went to yoga with my friend Priscilla, which was also great. Yesterday was my class at 2 Dog , and Tuesday and Thursday are classes at Treehouse . We had quite a workout today! I fin ally finished my Panda Cotton socks last night. I frogged ...